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Vino je oduvijek okupljalo ljude, uz vino se ljudi druže, o vinu se uvijek može razgovarati, vino u ljudima pobuđuje razne emocije. Tako je i ova knjiga nastala kao rezultat dugogodišnje suradnje kolega znanstvenika, a započela je jednim doktoratom. Tijekom tog su doktorskog istraživanja doktorandica, njezine mentorice, članovi povjerenstva i drugi kolege počeli o vinu i vinskom sektoru neobavezno razgovarati u raznim formalnim i neformalnim prigodama. Vinske su rasprave najprije dovele do nekoliko zajedno napisanih i objavljenih znanstvenih radova, dvaju sveučilišnih znanstvenih projekata, a potom i do uviđanja potrebe i želje za zajedničkim radom na knjizi. Urednici su tada pozvali autore da se zajedno upuste u pisanje znanstvene knjige posvećene vinu i vinarstvu. U radu na ovoj knjizi u konačnici je sudjelovalo 15 autora koji su se kroz tri glavna dijela knjige dotakli nekih od prepoznatih izazova vinskog sektora. Iako su vinogradarstvo i vinarstvo poljoprivredna i gospodarska aktivnost prisutna tisućljećima, tek im je u posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća posvećena značajnija istraživačka pozornost iz ekonomske perspektive. Rezultat rada vinogradara i vinara proizvodno je specifičan te podložan emocionalnim i kvalitativnim procjenama, ali je s ciljem dugotrajnog i uspješnog poslovanja potrebno dobro razumjeti i njegovu ekonomsku dimenziju. Promjene u svim sektorima gospodarstva, a posebno u poljoprivredi, koje su rezultat globalizacije, klimatskih i okolišnih promjena, tehničkog napretka, promjena u logističkim i opskrbnim lancima i posljedično kretanjima dobara u globalnoj trgovini, razvoja informacijsko komunikacijske tehnologije, promjena u strukturi i dostupnosti radne snage, značajno i ubrzano utječu na sektor čije je osnovno obilježje dugotrajan proizvodni proces. Tako je i u Republici Hrvatskoj gdje se vinogradarstvo i vinarstvo uspješno razvijaju te su važan dio lokalne tradicije, ali su posljednjih godina pod sve snažnijim pritiskom konkurenata, klimatskih promjena, promjena potrošačkih navika i drugih ekonomskih izazova. U knjizi su kroz ukupno 12 poglavlja sistematizirani i prikazani rezultati istraživanja autora iz različitih područja teorijske i poslovne ekonomije i ekonomske agronomije. Zahvaljujući značajnom trudu autora i ostvarenim istraživačkim doprinosima, ova knjiga je, prema zaključcima recenzenata, zaslužila kategorizaciju znanstvenog uredničkog djela. Autori su, kroz svoja druženja, rasprave, zajednički trud i rad identificirali i analizirali neke od ključnih izazova s kojima se vinski sektor susreće te su, pišući poglavlja u knjizi, predložili potencijalna rješenja.

Udžbenik se sastoji od šest poglavlja u kojima se prezentira razvoj teorija međunarodne trgovine od Adama Smitha i klasične teorije, pa do Marca Melitza i "nove-nove" trgovinske teorije. Paralelno s predstavljanjem teorijska, autori prezentiraju empirijske rezultate testiranja teorija međunarodne trgovine. Rad se većim dijelom oslanja na grafičku analizu trgovinskih modela proizašlih iz teorija međunarodne trgovine.

In this paper we investigate firm level activity in Croatian tourism industry. Our analysis is based on the sample of more than 10,000 firms obtained from Bureau van Dijk database for the period 2006-2015. Theoretical basis of our paper is the Gibrat’s law, which states that firm size and growth rate are independent of each other. Within tourism industry, we diJerentiate between supporting divisions and the main industry division (accommodation industry), and test the Law on firms in supporting divisions using modified hybrid estimator. In that way, we add to the existing field of knowledge in two ways: through analysis and quantification of intra-industry links within the Law’s framework and by employing hybrid estimator originally developed by Mundlak, which is a novelty in this field of research. Although, our findings do not confirm the Law, we are able to discern supporting tourism industry divisions whose growth is highly determined by the growth of accommodation industry., U ovom radu analizira se aktivnost poduzeća u turističkom sektoru Hrvatske. Analiza je temeljena na uzorku od više od 10 000 poduzeća preuzetom iz baze podataka Bureau van Dijk za razdoblje od 2006. do 2015. godine. Teorijski temelj našeg rada je Gibratov zakon, koji navodi kako su veličina i stope rasta poduzeća međusobno neovisne. Unutar turističkog sektora razlikujemo sporednu i glavnu sektorsku klasifikaciju (smještaj) te testiramo Gibratov zakon na poduzećima iz potpornih odjeljaka koristeći se modificiranim hibridnim procjeniteljem. Na taj način doprinosimo postojećoj literaturi na dva načina: analizom i kvantifikacijom unutar-industrijskih odnosa unutar okvira Gibratova zakona i primjenom hibridnog procjenitelja koji je izvorno razvio Mundlak, što je novost u ovom području istraživanja. Iako rezultati našeg istraživanja ne potvrduju Gibratov zakon, možemo detektirati koja je od sastavnica sektorske klasifikacije turizma u velikoj mjeri određena rastom smještajne industrije.

This manuscript provides an insight into employers’ assessment of the importance and performance of the competencies acquired among business and economics bachelor graduates in Croatia. While this issue is a not a new one, it came back into the spotlight after the Global Financial Crisis and the disturbances in the labour market. These disturbances were manifested through increased unemployment rate, with a significant share of highly educated people unable to find paid work. Informance-performance analysis is performed and results can be interpreted and used for quality assurance and improvement of the business and economics study programs in Croatia. Long-term depression and other economic problems such as inadequate conditions that employers offer – for instance, small wages in relationship to other EU members – are the main reasons for negative demographic movements in the country. Moreover, findings imply that aside from these reasons, movements of highly educated people could be caused by the level and quality of competences of Croatian bachelor degrees'.

Stručna monografija je napisana kako bi pomogla institucijama visokog obrazovanja prilikom uvođenja online nastave u nastavni kurikulum.

The EU Cohesion policy is based on a complex system of fiscal transfers, their main goal being to accelerate economic and social cohesion. In this paper, the contributions of the Structural funds and Cohesion fund (SFCF) to economic growth on national level while controlling for the institutional quality are tested. Aim of the paper is show whether institutional quality is a bottleneck for effective usage of SFCF. The analysis is based on the country-level data during 2000-2013 period. In the presented econometric models, we emphasize the importance of the institutional quality on the economic growth. The results show that when Institutional Quality Indicator as a regressor is included together with the size of inflows from SFCF, SFCF inflows have no influence on economic growth. Moreover, we found that neither the institutional quality separately or in interaction with SFCF inflows, is a statistically significant factor for economic growth in the EU-27. The results are signifincantly different when we apply the same methodology on two subsamples, where we distinguish between countries with high and low level of institutional quality index.

The EU Cohesion policy is based on a complex system of fiscal transfers, their main goal being to accelerate economic and social cohesion. In this paper, the contributions of the Structural funds and Cohesion fund (SFCF) to economic growth on national level while controlling for the institutional quality are tested. Aim of the paper is show whether institutional quality is a bottleneck for effective usage of SFCF. The analysis is based on the country-level data during 2000-2013 period. In the presented econometric models, we emphasize the importance of the institutional quality on the economic growth. The results show that when Institutional Quality Indicator as a regressor is included together with the size of inflows from SFCF, SFCF inflows have no influence on economic growth. Moreover, we found that neither the institutional quality separately or in interaction with SFCF inflows, is a statistically significant factor for economic growth in the EU-27. The results are signifincantly different when we apply the same methodology on two subsamples, where we distinguish between countries with high and low level of institutional quality index., Kohezijska politika Europske unije predstavlja složen sustav fiskalnih transfera kojima se želi ubrzati ekonomska i socijalna kohezija. U ovom radu provedeno je empirijsko istraživanje na temelju ocjenjivanja više regresijskih jednadžbi ekonomskog rasta s ciljem utvrđivanja doprinosa Kohezijskog i strukturnih fondova ekonomskom rastu zemalja članica EU u razdoblju od 2000. do 2013. godine. Za nezavisnu varijablu, između ostalih, odabran je indeks kvalitete institucija. Rezultati analize na cjelokupnom uzorku zemalja ukazuju na to da, iako se potvrđuje postojanje konvergencije, strukturni i Kohezijski fond nemaju utjecaj na ekonomski rast. Jednako tako, utvrđeno je da kvaliteta institucija zasebno, niti u interakciji sa sredstvima strukturnih i Kohezijskog fonda nije statistički značajan čimbenik ekonomskog rasta u skupini EU27, ali se rezultati značajno mijenjaju ako se osnovni uzorak razdvoji na zemlje s visokom i niskom razinom kvalitete institucija.

Logistics service providers are an important factor in the business success of companies engaged in trade activities at national and international level. They play an important role in achieving competitive advantages of business entities directly involved in the buying and selling in international trade. The main objective of engaging logistics intermediaries, such as logistics service providers, is to facilitate the operation of companies that deal with the buying and selling at international level in regards to the organization of shipment and / or delivery of goods. As the business processes and business entities in international trade are becoming more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage all of the activities on one’s own. Logistics intermediaries are, on the other hand, qualified to manage certain areas of business operations. Logistics intermediaries come in different forms and under different names, but they all have the same goal: to provide help to companies in the transportation, storage, shipment and the distribution of goods from the seller to the buyer or the final consumer, of course, for a certain fee. This research revolves around logistics intermediaries in international trade such as international freight forwarders, 3PL, 4PL or LLP. The objective of this paper is to, based on the analysis of the different types of logistics intermediaries, their classification, functions, the ways they facilitate business operations for international companies, indicate the benefits of their engagement and the differences and similarities among them.

Integrativni procesi na europskom kontinentu povezani s težnjom pripadajućih država za gospodarskim povezivanjem svoj su inicijalni impuls imali u vanjskotrgovinskoj sferi. Republika Hrvatska je osamostaljenjem dobila autonomiju u kreiranju vlastite gospodarske, a samim time i vanjskotrgovinske politike, no želja za priključivanjem Europskoj uniji rezultirala je potrebom za prihvaćanjem globalnih vanjskotrgovinskih pravila WTO-a. Prilagođavanje navedene politike pravilima WTO-a uzrokovalo je velike promjene u svim segmentima gospodarstva, a posebno u vanjskotrgovinskom sektoru. S obzirom da svaka država želi ostvariti što veće koristi od integriranja i posljedične liberalizacije, ključno je pitanje što će ovi procesi značiti za nju, njezino gospodarstvo, stanovništvo, te kakve koristi i troškove može očekivati. Odgovori su mnogo kompleksniji od samih pitanja, potrebne su brojne analize pomoću kojih kvantitativno možemo procijeniti sve moguće posljedice, a za tu su potrebu razvijeni različiti pristupi, metode i modeli mjerenja učinaka vanjskotrgovinske politike. Namjena magistarskog rada je prezentirati teorijske značajke carinskih i bescarinskih barijera, kao i predstaviti mjere vanjskotrgovinske politike u upotrebi u Republici Hrvatskoj, uz ocjenu njihove učinkovitosti etabliranim indikatorima kvalitativne konkurentnosti (intragranska trgovina, tehnološka konkurentnost, kao i strukturnog aspekta vanjskotrgovinskih tokova). Posebnost ovoga rada je u izučavanju snažnih integracijskih procesa u kojima Hrvatska sudjeluje posljednjih godina, a koji su umnogome odredili i određuju vanjskotrgovinske odnose. U prvom dijelu pod naslovom "Teorijska zasnovanost vanjskotrgovinske politike" definirani su temeljni pojmovi vanjskotrgovinske politike i prikazano njihovo djelovanje. Pored toga, opisan je okvir današnje hrvatske vanjskotrgovinske politike određen priljučivanjem WTO-u, CEFTI, te skorom otpočinjanju pregovora o pridruživanju EU. Ujedno je prezentiran koncept nominalne i efektivne carinske zaštite temeljen na input-output tablicama. Oblikovanje vanjskotrgovinske politike Republike Hrvatske naslov je drugog poglavlja u kojem se na sustavan način, uvažavajući vremensku dimenziju, opisuju vanjskotrgovinske mjere u upotrebi, ali i daje predviđanje glede njihovog kretanja u budućnosti. Uz nezaobilazne mjere carinske zaštite, detaljno se analiziraju necarinske mjere zaštite, kao medij za izbjegavanje globalnih pravila trgovanja. Suptilnost količinskih ograničenja, mjera administrativnog protekcionizma, politike izvoznih poticaja, antidampinških i kompenzatornih opterećenja, carinskog postupka, politike javnih nabavki, pravila normizacije i mjeriteljstva, zaštite potrošača ogleda se u činjenici njihove efikasnosti, ali i netransparentnosti. Dugoročni strateški cilj Hrvatske je članstvo u EU, stoga je jasna intencija adoptiranja Sporazuma o stabilizaciji i pridruživanju, kao fundamentalne odrednice cjelokupne hrvatske politike. Za potrebe ovoga rada bit će predstavljene posebnosti u odnosu na dosadašnju generaciju Europskih sporazuma, te cjelovita analiza njegovog vanjskotrgovinskog aspekta. Posljednji, četvrti dio rada temelji se na izabranim indikatorima kvalitativnog aspekta konkurentnosti. Predstavlja se njihov povijesni razvoj, a zatim slijedi primjena odgovarajućeg pokazatelja na primjeru Hrvatske, čime će se ocjeniti adekvatnost hrvatske vanjskotrgovinske politike u proteklom razdoblju. Skupine indikatora koje će služiti za ocjenu kvalitete vanjskotrgovinske politike Hrvatske su: indikatori intragranske razmjene, indikatori tehnološke konkurentnosti te indikatori strukturnoga aspekta vanjskotrgovinskih tokova. Općeprihvaćenu metodu mjerenja intragranske trgovine inaugurirali su Grubel i Lloyd (1975), temeljenu na doprinosima Verdoorna (1960), Kojime (1964) i Grubela (1967), dok je mjerenje marginalne intragranske razmjene evoluiralo od pristupa Hamilton-Kniesta (1991), Grenaway-Hine-Milner-Elliota (1994), do Brülharta (1994). Tehnološka se konkurentnost mjeri pokazateljima usporednih prednosti po tehnološkim razredima (RCA) fundiranih doprinosima Balasse (1965) uz primjenu metode tehnološke klasifikacije Wolfmayr-Schnitzer (1998), koja koristi kombinaciju ranijih metoda Leglera (1982), Schulmeistera (1990), i Schulmeistera i Boescha (1987). Utvrđivanje relativnih komparativnih prednosti (RCA) prema CEPII indeksu te vanjskotrgovinska specijalizacija po tehnološkim razredima ima cilj identificirati jake i slabe točke gospodarstva, te ocjeniti adekvatnost prilagodbe respektirajući vremensku dimenziju. Strukturalni aspekt vanjskotrgovinskih tokova promatran je relativnim udjelom "osjetljivih" proizvoda u agregatnom izvozu, kao i regionalnom koncentracijom hrvatskoga izvoza.

Credit rating agencies are an important part of the globalized financial system and thus influence the global economy. Their role is to assess the level of credit worthiness of debt issuers for potential investors in private and public sector. Yet, after every financial crisis and/or defaults of particular companies and sovereigns, the credit rating agencies become the focal point of criticism by economists, politicians, media, etc. The reason for this lies in the inability of the credit rating agencies to do the job they are supposed to do i.e. risk signaling. This paper builds on that assessment, while focusing on three biggest credit rating agencies – Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings and their influences on spreading the financial crisis on the Eurozone., Agencije za kreditni rejting su važni dio globaliziranog financijskog sustava, te stoga i utječu na globalnu ekonomiju. Njihova uloga je procijeniti razinu boniteta emitenta duga za potencijalne investitore u privatnom i javnom sektoru. Ipak, nakon svake financijske krize i/ili neispunjenja ugovornih obveza određenih tvrtki i suverenih država, agencije za kreditni rejting postaju žarište kritike ekonomista, političara, medija, i td. Razlog tomu leži u nesposobnosti agencija za kreditni rejting da obavljaju svoj posao, a to je upozoravanje na rizike. Ovaj rad se temelji na toj ocjeni, s naglaskom na tri najveće agencije za kreditni rejting – Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, i njihovim utjecajem na širenje financijske krize u Eurozoni.

Credit rating agencies are an important part of the globalized financial system and thus influence the global economy. Their role is to assess the level of credit worthiness of debt issuers for potential investors in private and public sector. Yet, after every financial crisis and/or defaults of particular companies and sovereigns, the credit rating agencies become the focal point of criticism by economists, politicians, media, etc. The reason for this lies in the inability of the credit rating agencies to do the job they are supposed to do i.e. risk signaling. This paper builds on that assessment, while focusing on three biggest credit rating agencies – Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings and their influences on spreading the financial crisis on the Eurozone.

Le transfert de technologie permet l’ acc&egrave ; ; s direct aux instruments modernes nécessaires pour la production et les connaissances. Au sense commercial, le transfert de technologie représente la remise de la documentation, des connaissances, des expériences ou bien de l’ équipement aux acheteurs de la technologie, sous des conditions déterminées. Le transfert de technologie est un proc&egrave ; ; s dynamique et complexe, comprenant plusieurs phases. Il se déroule dans le cadre d’ une économie ou bien entre des sujets des états différents. Au moment du choix de la technologie, le sujet qui s’ occupe des affaires a la possibilité de choisir des sources de tecnologie nationales ou étrang&egrave ; ; res. Les sources nationales comprennent les resources de recherche du bénéficiaire de la technologie ou bien les résultats de la recherce d’ autres chercheurs nationaux. L’ utilisation des propres sources de technologie représente un des buts du développement technologique de chaque pays. Cependant, les recherces qui apportent les nouvelles soultions technologiques sont liées d’ une mani&egrave ; ; re étroite aux moyens financiers en disposition. Dans le cas des propres resources de recherche limitées, la technologie qui arrive de l’ étranger a une importance exceptionnelle. Il faut tenir compte du fait que le succ&egrave ; ; s de l’ application de la technologie dans l’ économie ne dépend pas seulement de la technologie, mais aussi du choix de la forme de transfert de technologie et de son application. Il n’ est pas facile d’ acheter tout simplement la technologie sur le marché. Seulement les nouvelles solutions technologiques peuvent créer les avantages technologiques et la compétitivité. Pour cette raison il est tr&egrave ; ; s important de choisir la forme de transfert de technologie qui permettra &agrave ; ; l’ entrepreneur d’ utiliser la technologie moderne. Le transfert de technologie qui se déroule dans le cadre des propres institutions de recherches et des investissements communs ainsi que par la coopération dans le secteur de la production représentent pour le récepteur la plus acceptable forme de transfert de tecnologie parce que cela lui garantie l’ emploie certain de la technologie moderne dans le proc&egrave ; ; s de production

This research monograph consists of 31 papers related to the economy and business of the post-COVID-19 dynamics. The chapters of the research monograph deal with the relationship between the rapid changes in the social, economic and business context and new technologies, legal dilemmas, the state of affairs in certain sectors, the impact on tourism, financial and tax issues, and innovations in marketing. As our authors outline, the Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on economies worldwide. To prevent the spread of the virus, governments have often been forced to take action and implement certain restrictive measures. The extent of the measures taken varies from country to country and between economic sectors in terms of the possibility of the virus spreading. On the other hand, modern information technology has brought changes to all areas of life and work. The degree of “digitalization of everything” is so great that some authors have called this process the “digital revolution” and the modern economy the “digital economy.” Over time, this process is accelerating, and the changes are beginning to affect all areas of economic and social life. These changes are becoming increasingly complex, interacting and accelerating, and taking on a global character that raises new challenges, problems and issues that need to be addressed. However, due to the complexity of the globalization process, the development of technology, information systems and communications, and the related changes in all areas of economic and social life, it is currently difficult to accurately predict the future forms and content of economic activities. Therefore, the contributions in this monograph attempt to provide a transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective on the outcomes and future prospects of the changes triggered by the pandemic shock. We recognize that 2022 will be challenging because of the many uncertainties arising from the lingering effects of the pandemic, as well as the risks posed by the impact of unprecedented fiscal and monetary measures and instruments to prevent the negative consequences of the crisis. However, we are confident that both scientists and practitioners have solutions to meet the future challenges, as we did with the pandemics COVID-19. We therefore hope you enjoy reading the contributions of our authors and that you will attend the next conference in June 2022

Robots and artificial intelligence are no longer just something that the future might bring. Future generations of workers will certainly work with robots in their work environments. The trend toward automation has been present for decades, especially in industrial production. However, the increasing affordability of computers and other high-tech solutions, as well as the outbreak of Covid-19, which has created additional pressures toward less social interaction between humans, may accelerate these processes. The aim of this study is to understand the attitudes and opinions of students at the University of Rijeka towards robots in the workplace and workplace automation in general. The instrument used for the research is a thirteen question survey conducted through Google Forms. A total of 234 students completed the questionnaire. The results show that respondents are not receptive to robots, that they doubt the ability of robots to replace humans in the workplace, and that they would consider it unfair for an employer to choose a solution offered by a robot over their own. Most of the respondents in the sample also believe that one needs one to three years of work experience, while they claim that a university degree is sufficient for the job. It has been shown that the opinions of the respondents within the categories themselves are very different, which means that the respondents commit themselves to certain questions or scenarios.

The introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) in organizations is a financially, time wise and operationally demanding process. We examine the factors that affect the implementation of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems in organizations, as well as the specifics of its implementation in the context of a public institution. We describe the context for ERP introduction and outline the process of ERP implementation. Furthermore, we identify the important organizational and project determinants as well as the critical success factors that influenced the implementation of EPR in the public institution. For the purposes of the used case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees involved in the implementation of the ERP system, and documents related to the implementation were analyzed. Finally, problems concerning the implementation of ERP were identified and analyzed, and recommendations were made in order to alleviate obstacles and increase the success of the implementation of ERP systems.

The aim of the research is to determine whether there is a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of smart city applications and e-services on the one hand, and active users of the citizens of Velika Gorica and Sveta Nedjelja, on the other. Furthermore, the efforts were made to establish a positive correlation between the use of smart city applications and e-services according to the gender and age of citizens in both observed cities. The research was conducted by the method of survey during the month of September 2020 on a sample of 200 respondents from the area of the city of Velika Gorica and from the area of the city of Sveta Nedelja. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were used to prove the hypotheses. The results confirm a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of smart city applications, e- services and active users in both cities. The positive association between the use of smart city applications and e-services according to the gender and age of the inhabitants of both cities was not confirmed. The results contribute to a better understanding of digital city services and their users. The results also help city governments to create better smart city strategic goals based on digitization and networking with citizens.

Today’s world is pervaded with changes caused by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this pandemic, world economies are confronted with many turbulent challenges and prompt adjustments in different industries. The key to solving challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is healthcare, but at the same time, it is most affected by the unfavourable effects of the pandemic. Given that the technological innovation development and application simultaneously cause positive changes in societies and economies, this paper explores how technological innovation has supported global healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a systematic review of the scientific literature in two world-renowned databases of scientific papers: Web of Science and Scopus, is conducted. The scientific articles considered for this literature review were articles published and indexed in the mentioned databases during the pandemic period, therefore, from the beginning of 2020 until now. The research results indicated technological changes and new technologies applied in healthcare, which resulted from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the results showed the outcomes that technological innovations application has attained in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the results indicated shortcomings in the field of research on this topic, based on which recommendations for further research are defined.

The variety and content of financial retail products (FRPs) on the market is highly associated with contemporary social issues, especially environmental and health protection. It is common for most products to be ecolabelled or certified to indicate the impact of the products in relation to the global sustainable development agenda. Although eco-labelling is very common for tangible products, financial products in the retail sector in the EU are also in the process of developing "green" criteria. The aim of this paper is to analyse how to manage criteria for green labelling of FRPs, based on the proposed guidelines. The research analyses investments made in environmentally sustainable economic activities based on the total portfolio value of assets under "green" management. The research results indicate reasonable criteria and portfolio thresholds for defining ˝portfolio greenness˝. Environmental criteria for different FRPs such as UCITS, bonds and insurance funds are designed into the research and econometric analysis to determine whether investments in stocks, bonds or loans are being used for financing activities that prevent negative impacts related to climate change or reduce negative environmental and social effects. The general findings of the research indicate a useful application of the green criterion to identify FRPs that are invested exclusively in environmentally sustainable activities. The market objective is to provide consumers of FRPs with realistic information about the opportunities of "green" investments, their sustainable returns and future trends.

The globalization, technology development and more recently the pandemic have been changing global societies and economies. The consequences are visible in most areas of the economy. Overlapping of these trends contribute even stronger to the requirements for new skills and thus have disruptive effects on the labour market in the short run, causing shocks and changes of demand for labour. For example, the combination of technological advancements and changed working conditions caused by the pandemic put additional pressure on digitalization in every sector of the economy and thus create a greater demand for digital skills. The effectiveness of the social cohesion and the sustainability of modern social- economic models are depending on the notion that rapid technological changes should be systematically supported on many levels. This includes providing all citizens with tools and capacities to participate fully and successfully in the global digital transformation. The research in this paper is related to disruption new technologies are causing on the labour market, and its impact on the worker’s skills in the context of the pandemic. We start by giving an overview of the trends on the EU labour market before the pandemics and proceed to analyse recent EU strategic documents as a response to the Covid-19 reality. States all over the world are confronted with the issues such as skill shortages, structural unemployment, or emerging forms of employment, and our goal is to identify the response of selected EU states to these challenges. The importance of these issues cannot be overemphasized, especially as global forecasts predict that gaps in skills, job requirements and the abilities of workers will continue increasing even at the greater pace putting additional burden at national economic and social systems, especially in less adaptive countries. Research results suggest that the impact of digitalization and other contemporary trends in the labour market require full attention and carefully designed recovery plans.

The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of transport infrastructure and logistics performance on international trade and economic growth in the Central and Eastern European Union Member States (CEMS). The dissertation is divided in three separate and interrelated research papers. In the first research paper, the question of the role of transport infrastructure in the economy is revisited through the construction of two empirical econometric models. The first model estimates the impact of road and rail infrastructure on economic growth, considering population growth, investment in infrastructure and trade openness. The second model is used to check the robustness of the first model and follows the Aschauer's (1989) aggregate production function. The analysis is based on a panel data regression with fixed effects estimator (FE). The results of the first model show a significant and positive relationship between road infrastructure and economic output, and significant but negative relationship between rail infrastructure and economic output. The results of the estimation of aggregate production function suggest that among all types of infrastructure, only road transport infrastructure shows significant positive effects on economic output. Although overall results show inconclusive results, they should be seen in a broader context where transport infrastructure is a public good and investment in it is necessary to ensure the territorial, economic and social cohesion of CEMS countries. The second research paper examines the impact of logistics performance on bilateral trade of the EU15 and CEMS countries. The analysis is based on a structural gravity model estimated with the Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood Estimator (PPML). The results show that there is a significant relationship between logistics performance and EU15 and the CEMS bilateral trade, with heterogeneous effects of the elements of logistics performance on trade in different product groups. The third research paper incorporates other elements of logistics performance and trade facilitation, i.e., hard and soft infrastructure, into international trade in addition to logistics performance. The aim is to assess the impact of trade facilitation, distinguishing between traditional trade and supply chain trade. In the first step, factor analysis is used to construct indicators of trade facilitation. In the second step, the effects of trade facilitation indicators on gross trade and trade value added data are estimated with the empirical model specification based on a structural gravity model. To address the issues of heteroscedasticity and zero trade values, the PPML estimator is also used. The results suggest that different elements of trade facilitation are significant and have different degrees of relevance to traditional and supply chain trade. The findings obtained in the dissertation contribute to the existing body of knowledge in this research area from a theoretical and applicative perspective and offer recommendations for potential improvements in the areas of transportation, logistics, and trade facilitation., Cilj ove disertacije je istražiti utjecaj transportne infrastrukture i logističke usluge na međunarodnu trgovinu i gospodarski rast u zemljama srednje i istočne Europe (CEMS), članicama Europske unije. Disertacija je podijeljena u tri zasebna i međusobno povezana znanstvena rada. U prvom istraživačkom radu se preispituje pitanje uloge transportne infrastrukture u gospodarstvu na temelju dva empirijska ekonometrijska modela. U prvom modelu se procjenjuju učinci cestovne i željezničke infrastrukture na gospodarski rast, kontrolirajući pritom rast stanovništva, ulaganja u infrastrukturu i otvorenost trgovine. Drugi se model koristi za provjeru robusnosti prvog modela i temelji se na agregatnoj proizvodnoj funkciji koju je koristio Aschauer (1989.) u svom radu. Analiza se temelji na regresiji panel podataka s procjeniteljem fiksnih učinaka (FE). Rezultati prvog modela pokazuju značajnu i pozitivnu vezu između cestovne transportne infrastrukture i gospodarskog rasta, ali i značajnu negativnu vezu između željezničke infrastrukture i ekonomskog rasta. Rezultati procjene agregatne proizvodne funkcije ukazuju na to kako od svih promatranih vrsta transportne infrastrukture, jedino cestovna intrastruktura ima značajne pozitivne učinke na ekonomski rast, dok rezultati za ostale vrste infrastrukture nisu statistički značajni. Premda cjelokupni rezultati pokazuju nesignificantne rezultate, treba ih promatrati u širem kontekstu, jer je transportna infrastruktura javno dobro i ulaganje u nju potrebno je kako bi se ostvarila teritorijalna, ekonomska i socijalna kohezija zemalja CEMS. U drugom istraživačkom radu se analizira učinak logističkih performansi na bilateralnu trgovinu zemalja EU15 i CEMS. Analiza se temelji na strukturnom gravitacijskom modelu koji se procjenjuje s Procjeniteljem pseudo maksimalne vjerodostojnosti (PPML). Rezultati procjene pokazuju da postoji značajna veza između logističkih performansi bilateralne trgovine EU15 i CEMS zemalja, međutim različiti elementi logističkih performansi imaju različite učinke ovisno o grupama proizvoda kojima se trguje. U trećem istraživačkom radu su uključeni i drugi elementi logističkih performansi, kao što je tvrda i meka infrastruktura, koja može imati učinke na međunarodnu trgovinu. Cilj trećeg rada jest procijeniti utjecaj tvrde i meke infrastrukture na tradicionalnu trgovinu i trgovinu kroz opskrbni lanac. Kako bi se konstruirale varijable olakšavanja trgovine, odnosno tvrde i meke infrastrukture, u prvom koraku analize se koristi faktorska analiza. U drugom koraku se koristi strukturni gravitacijski model kako s PPML procjeniteljem kako bi se procijenili učinci tvrde i meke infrastrukture na trgovinu. PPML procjenitelj se koristi kako bi se riješio problem heteroskedastičnosti i nula vrijednosti trgovine. Rezultati analize sugeriraju kako su različiti elementi olakšavanja trgovine, odnosno tvrda i meka infrastruktura značajni i da imaju različite stupnjeve relevantnosti za tradicionalnu trgovinu i trgovinu u lancu opskrbe. Rezultati disertacije doprinose postojećem znanju u području istraživanja iz teorijske i aplikativne perspektive i nude preporuke za moguća poboljšanja u područjima prometa, logistike, olakšavanja trgovine i gospodarskog rasta.

U radu se istražuje kako makroekonomski preduvjeti i uvjeti članstva u Ekonomskoj i monetarnoj uniji utječu na priljev izravnih stranih ulaganja iz industrijski razvijenih zemalja u njezine nove članice. Rad je podijeljen na nekoliko velikih cjelina u kojima se ponajprije analiziraju teorijske značajke izravnih stranih ulaganja, monetarne integracije općenito te konkretno na primjeru Ekonomske i monetarne unije. Uz navedeno, provedena je teorijska analiza koja obuhvaća kratak osvrt na determinante izravnih stranih ulaganja te analizu niza znanstveno-istraživačkih radova koji razmatraju determinante FDI-jeva, bliske makromonetarnim indikatorima i članstvima u monetarnim unijama. Na temelju niza istraživanja odabrani su gravitacijski model kao najprikladniji za analizu izravnih stranih ulaganja te panel regresijska metoda za empirijsko testiranje. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od jedanaest novih članica (Bugarska, Češka, Estonija, Hrvatska, Latvija, Litva, Mađarska, Poljska, Slovačka i Slovenija) koje se Uniji priključuju u drugom valu. Istraživanje obuhvaća razdoblje od 2005. do 2018. godine. Prema panel gravitacijskom pristupu zemlje iz navedenog uzorka spaja se u parove s industrijski razvijenim zemljama iz kojih su dostupni podatci odljeva investicija. U skupinu ekonomija iz kojih se bilježi investiranje prema novim članicama Unije pripadaju Australija, Austrija, Belgija, Danska, Finska, Francuska, Njemačka, Irska, Island, Italija, Japan, Kanada, Južna Koreja, Nizozemska, Norveška, Španjolska, Švedska, Švicarska, Turska, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo i SAD. Upravo ovakav pristup uvjetuje panelarni pristup prilikom regresijske analize, a odljevi izravnih inozemnih investicija iz industrijski razvijenih zemalja u nove članice Unije predstavljaju zavisnu varijablu. Empirijsko istraživanje provodi se na navedenu uzorku i razdoblju procjenjujući utjecaje makroekonomskih varijabli na priljev stranih ulaganja u nove članice Unije, a to su: BDP, otvorenost gospodarstva, realni devizni tečaj, volatilnost tečaja, inflacija, kamatne stope središnje banke i dugoročne kamatne stope, indeks financijskog razvoja, indeks statutarnih ograničenja za strana ulaganja, statutarne porezne stope na dobit i dvije kvalitativne varijable kojima je definirano članstvo u EU-u i EMU-u. Empirijska analiza pokazala je statistički značajne i pozitivne veze između veličine gospodarstva, rasta deviznog tečaja i dugoročnih kamatnih stopa te djelomično s razvojem financijskog sustava te članstvom u Europskoj uniji i Ekonomskoj i monetarnoj uniji. S druge su strane statistički značajne i negativne korelacije pronađene između volatilnosti tečaja, inflacije i priljeva izravnih stranih ulaganja u nove članice EU-a i EMU-a. Empirijskim istraživanjem nije utvrđena statistički značajna veza između priljeva izravnih stranih ulaganja u nove članice Unije i otvorenosti gospodarstva, statutarnih poreznih stopa i statutarnih ograničenja za strana ulaganja. Na temelju izvršene analize ustanovljeno je da članstvo u eurozoni i EU-u pozitivno djeluje na priljev stranih ulaganja izravno, ali i neizravno kroz niz makroekonomskih indikatora svojstvenih monetarnoj integraciji i politici poput umjereno restriktivne monetarne politike, tj. kroz rast dugoročnih kamatnih stopa, smanjenje inflacije te razvoj financijskog sustava. No, potrebno je dodati da su učinci monetarne integracije, iako pozitivni na priljev stranoga kapitala, ograničeni i trebaju biti popraćeni ostalim gospodarskim politikama., The dissertation examines how the macroeconomic conditions and criteria of membership in the Economic and Monetary Union affect the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from industrialized countries to New Member States of the European Union (NMS). The dissertation is divided into several large sections, which primarily analyse the theoretical features of FDI, monetary integration in general and specifically the context of the European Economic and Monetary Union. In addition, the theoretical analysis includes a brief overview of the FDI determinants and the analysis of a number of scientific research papers that consider FDI determinants, primarily those closely related to macro-monetary indicators and memberships in monetary unions. Based on a series of studies, the gravity model was selected as the most suitable for the analysis of FDI and the panel-regression method for empirical testing. The research was carried out on a sample of 11 NMS (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) joining the Union in the last two decades. The research covers the period from 2005 to 2018. According to the panel gravity approach, the countries in this sample are paired with industrialized countries, from which investment outflow data is available. The following countries belong to the group of economies from which investments are recorded toward the NMS: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and USA. It is this approach that requires a panel regression analysis, while the FDI outflows from industrialized countries to NMS is the dependent variable. The empirical research is carried out with the defined sample and time period, assessing the impact of macroeconomic variables on the inflow of foreign investment in NMS, specifically these variables are: GDP, economic openness, real exchange rate, exchange rate volatility, inflation, central bank interest rates and long-term interest rates, the index of financial development, the index of statutory restrictions on foreign investment, the statutory income tax rates and the two qualitative variables that define EU and EMU membership. The empirical analysis showed statistically significant and positive links between the size of the economy, exchange rate growth and long-term interest rates, and partly with the development of the financial system and membership in the European Union and Economic and Monetary Union. On the other hand, statistically significant and negative correlations were found between exchange rate volatility, inflation and FDI inflows into new EU and EMU Member States. The research has not found a statistically significant relationship between the inflow of FDI in the NMS and the openness of the economy, statutory tax rates and statutory restrictions on foreign investment. Based on the analysis, we can argue that membership in the Euro-area and the EU has positive effects on foreign investment inflows directly, but also indirectly through a number of macroeconomic indicators inherent to monetary integrations and policies such as moderately restrictive monetary policies, i.e., rising long-term interest rates, reducing inflation pressures and the development of the financial system. However, it should be added that the effects of monetary integration, although positive on foreign capital inflows, are limited and should be accompanied by other economic policies.

This research monograph consists of 17 papers under the framework of contemporary economic and business issues which we can structure into several main research fields. These fields relate to the regulation of economic and business activities, especially in the context of digitalization processes, fiscal and monetary issues, dealing with the impact of digitalization and COVID19 pandemics on traditional academic and business debates, as well as on innovation processes in both government and the corporate sector. We can borrow the phrase from one of our papers and confirm that the papers presented show that the innovative market and digital society, as the new global development and technology paradigm of the modern world, together with its capabilities and standards, has changed the character of entrepreneurship and the state/government in terms of their new interactions. Thus, the contributions from the research monograph are made more urgent by the main objective of introspection of the traditional economic and business sectors and activities under the prism of digital transformation. The researchers were particularly interested in the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the economic and business sectors. Although the conference was held in the midst of the pandemics, researchers were able to present valuable studies showing the extent of the threat posed by COVID 19 to the public health and economic outcomes of EU citizens. Significant pressure was placed on member state spending, particularly in countries with lower fiscal capacity, resulting in a severe temporary deterioration in the fiscal deficit and public debt. It is also noted that the crisis COVID -19 will have an uneven impact on member states and could deepen their divergence. Therefore, new and creative fiscal policies to support investment in digital transformation, green transition and innovation are of utmost importance. This monograph provides some guidance.

Considering their geographical, climatic, transport, and socioeconomic specifics, moun tain areas are of particular interest for the European regional and cohesion policy. The regional policy of the Republic of Croatia also recognizes the sensitivity and specificity of these areas and seeks to foster their development and reduce development lags through special mechanisms. The aim of this paper was to investigate long-term demographic and economic characteristics of mountain areas in Croatia and, based on the results of the analysis, to assess the effects of the regional policy, i.e. the current system of fostering the development of mountain areas, both in terms of regional development goals and aspects of reducing development divergences in Croatia. The analysis of characteristics of mountain areas is based on long-term trends of relevant demographic and economic indicators for the period from 2001 to 2017. The key findings indicate extremely negative demographic and economic trends, as well as a continuous lag in relation to other regional areas of Croatia. Thus, the authors propose the implementation of an integrated management system for the next development perspective, in accordance with modern changes in the regional and local paradigm. The key instruments of all aspects of such a system should focus on the development of innovation, human resource development, as well as creative forms of entrepreneurs’ networking. In this process, it is important to balance the system of incentives by respecting the criteria of productivity, sustainability, and equity.

COVID-19 was declared as a world health emergency in January 2020. Since then it has affected all aspects of our lives. Countries closed their borders, put their population in self-quarantine and closed businesses and schools. As of March 31, the infection sickened more than 770, 000 people all around the world with thousands of fatalities. There is a little consensus how long will the infection last and what the number of infeced will be. Therefore, it is essential to implement suitable methods for COVID-19 spread prediction which is the goal of this paper. An open source machine learning software Weka and its algorithms (Linear regression, Gaussian Processes, SMOreg and neural network Multilayer Perceptron) have been used to predict the number of cases and fatalities of COVID-19 disease for 10 days in the future. The accuracy of the forecasts is measured using MAPE and RMSE error metrics. The results of the analysis have shown that Weka and its algorithms can be successfully used for prediction of COVID-19 spread in the world. The results of the analysis indicated that the Gaussian processes and Multilayer perceptron neural network are the most precise algorithms for the prediction of new and total cases of COVID-19 disease on a global scale and on an individual country level. The values of MAPE criterion for 12 selected countries, in majority of cases, have shown a highly accurate or good forecasting ability. The results obtained from this analysis can be important for global community and especially for economic and health policy makers in order to guide COVID-19 surveillance and implement public health policy measures.

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between the maturity of the process-based organizational structures and financial performance of the companies, belonging to the Croatian corporate sector. Firstly, we review the previous empirical studies, related to the financial effects of business process orientation, as well as financial effects of other advanced managerial concepts and their implementation in the Croatian corporate sector. Based on the previous research results, we hypothesize that the benefits of process- based organizational structure maturity are not visible in the immediate financial performance in the analyzed Croatian companies. Methodological and practical explanations of this phenomenon are offered, including the analysis of the previous empirical studies.

This research monograph consists of 17 papers under the framework of contemporary economic and business issues which we can structure into several main research fields. These fields relate to the regulation of economic and business activities, especially in the context of digitalization processes, fiscal and monetary issues, dealing with the impact of digitalization and COVID19 pandemics on traditional academic and business debates, as well as on innovation processes in both government and the corporate sector. We can borrow the phrase from one of our papers and confirm that the papers presented show that the innovative market and digital society, as the new global development and technology paradigm of the modern world, together with its capabilities and standards, has changed the character of entrepreneurship and the state/government in terms of their new interactions. Thus, the contributions from the research monograph are made more urgent by the main objective of introspection of the traditional economic and business sectors and activities under the prism of digital transformation. The researchers were particularly interested in the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the economic and business sectors. Although the conference was held in the midst of the pandemics, researchers were able to present valuable studies showing the extent of the threat posed by COVID 19 to the public health and economic outcomes of EU citizens. Significant pressure was placed on member state spending, particularly in countries with lower fiscal capacity, resulting in a severe temporary deterioration in the fiscal deficit and public debt. It is also noted that the crisis COVID -19 will have an uneven impact on member states and could deepen their divergence. Therefore, new and creative fiscal policies to support investment in digital transformation, green transition and innovation are of utmost importance. This monograph provides some guidance.

Način funkcioniranja i prilagodba nacionalnog sustava upravljanja i provedbe instrumenata kohezijske (u nastavku: regionalne) politike Europske unije (u nastavku: EU) te, posljedično, učinkovitost toga sustava, ima presudan utjecaj na dinamiku i svrsishodnost povlačenja sredstava fondova regionalne politike EU. Uzimajući u obzir aktualnost te teme uslijed završetka proračunskog razdoblja EU, 2014. - 2020. i perspektivu novog proračunskog razdoblja EU (2021. - 2027.), doktorska disertacija izdiže se iznad vremenskih ograničenja proračunskih razdoblja jer analizira problematiku korištenja sredstava regionalne politike EU u kontekstu znanstvenog doprinosa predlaganju modela institucionalnog okruženja sustava upravljanja instrumentima (fondovima) regionalne politike EU u Hrvatskoj. U tom kontekstu, jedan od najvećih problema i izazova je činjenica da je Hrvatska zadnja država koja je postala članica EU te istovremeno i jedina koja koristi fondove regionalne politike EU samo jednu proračunsku perspektivu. Stoga je i dodatni izazov prikupiti dostatne empirijske i ekonometrijske spoznaje o funkcioniranju sustava upravljanja fondovima regionalne politike u odabranim državama EU, a da bi zaključci bili primjenjivi na Hrvatsku. Posebna pozornost posvećena je prikazu sustava upravljanja fondovima regionalne politike EU u državama sličnih usporednih karakteristika kao i Hrvatska, putem empirijskih spoznaja i zakonitosti, suvremenih pristupa i teorija koje pridonose rješavanju aktualnih, kompleksnih, teorijskih i praktičnih problema, a koji do sada nisu dovoljno istraženi niti prisutni u nacionalnom istraživačkom području. Rezultati organizacijske analize te analize učinkovitosti sustava upravljanja fondovima EU u odabranim državama u fokusu je istraživanja provedenog u okviru ove doktorske disertacije. Znanstveno istraživanje temelj je za davanje smjernica pri definiranju optimalnog modela sustava upravljanja fondovima regionalne politike EU u Hrvatskoj koji, do trenutka izrade doktorske disertacije, zbog svoje nedovoljne učinkovitosti, kompleksnosti sustava donošenja odluka i svojevrsne „isprepletenosti“ institucija u procesu pripreme i implementacije, negativno utječe na maksimiziranje iskorištavanja sredstava fondova regionalne politike EU. Kako bi se iz postojećih sustava upravljanja odabranih država EU empirijski mogli utvrditi ključni institucionalni čimbenici apsorpcije fondova EU, uzimaju se u obzir postojeći sustavi upravljanja. Znanstvenim istraživanjem i komparativnom analizom sustava upravljanja fondovima regionalne politike EU u devet država središnje i istočne Europe te iskustvima funkcioniranja hrvatskog sustava, nastoji se formulirati optimalni okvir nacionalnog sustava upravljanja fondovima regionalne politike EU koji bi mogao omogućiti donošenje kvalitetnijih strateških odluka izvršnoj vlasti kako bi se isti, u što je moguće većoj mjeri, odrazio na gospodarski rast putem učinkovitosti korištenja sredstava fondova regionalne politike EU. Rezultati provedene ekonometrijske analize doprinose zaključcima koji potvrđuju da su primljene bespovratne pomoći EU dovele do povećanja gospodarskog razvoja država EU. Međutim, sama alokacija sredstava pomoći nije nužno dovela do povećanja kvalitete institucionalnog okvira te konkurentnosti analiziranih zemalja. Stoga se potvrđuje važnost uspostavljanja institucionalnog okvira upravljanja fondovima EU koji, ne samo da će dovesti do povećanja apsorpcije fondova EU, nego će unaprijediti opću djelotvornost javnog sektora te konkurentnost države. Stoga je, temeljem sustavnog i sveobuhvatnog znanstvenog istraživanja u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji, predložen i argumentiran model institucionalnog sustava za upravljanje i provedbu instrumenata (fondova) regionalne politike EU u Hrvatskoj, a primjenjiv je u kratkom i dugom roku., The national system of management and implementation of the European Union (hereinafter: EU) cohesion (hereinafter: regional) policy, its manner of functioning, its adjustment and, consequently, the effectiveness of this system, has a decisive influence on the dynamics and expediency of drawing from EU regional policy funds. Considering the relevance of this topic due to the end of the European budgetary period 2014-2020, and the perspective of the new budgetary period (2021-2027), this doctoral thesis rises above the time limits of budget periods because it analyses the use of EU regional policy funds in the context of scientific contribution to a draft model of the institutional framework for managing EU regional policy instruments (funds) in Croatia. In this context, one of the biggest problems and challenges is the fact that Croatia was the last to become an EU member country and at the same time the only one that uses EU regional policy funds for only one budgetary period. Therefore, it is an additional challenge to gather enough empirical and econometric knowledge about the functioning of the EU regional policy funds management system in selected EU countries, for the conclusions to apply to Croatia. Special attention was paid to the presentation of the EU regional policy funds management systems in countries with similar characteristics comparative to Croatia, through empirical knowledge and laws, modern approaches and theories that contribute to solving current, complex, theoretical and practical problems, which have not been sufficiently researched or present in the national research area. The results of the organizational and efficiency analyses of the EU funds management system in selected countries are the focus of the research conducted within this doctoral thesis. Scientific research served as the basis for providing guidelines for defining the optimal model of the EU regional policy funds management system in Croatia, which, by the time of this analysis, due to its low efficiency, the complexity of the decision-making system and a kind of "intertwining" of institutions in the process of preparation and implementation, has failed to maximize the utilization of EU regional policy funds. To be able to empirically determine the key institutional factors for the EU funds absorption from the existing management systems of selected EU countries, the existing management systems are considered. Through scientific research and comparative analysis of the EU regional funds management system in nine Central and Eastern European countries, along with the experiences of the Croatian system, this paper aims to determine an optimal framework for a national EU regional policy fund management system that would enable the executive power to adopt better strategic decisions. The abovementioned framework should, to the greatest extent possible, stimulate economic growth through the efficient use of EU regional policy funds. The results of the conducted econometric analysis contribute to the conclusions confirming that the received EU grants have led to an increase in the economic development of EU countries. However, the allocation of funds alone did not necessarily lead to an increase in the quality of the institutional environment and the competitiveness of the countries analysed. Furthermore, it is confirmed that an institutional framework for the management of EU funds should be established, which will not only increase the absorption of EU funds but will also improve the overall efficiency of the public sector and the competitiveness of the state. Therefore, this doctoral thesis, based on systematic and comprehensive scientific research, proposes and asserts a model of an institutional system for management and implementation of instruments (funds) of EU regional policy in Croatia that is applicable in the short and long term.

Cilj istraživanja je ocjena koristi implementacije međunarodno priznatih sustava upravljanja kvalitetom u bolničkim zdravstvenim ustanovama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Kao kriterij uspostavljenog sustava kvalitete korišteno je uvođenje ISO sustava i/ili provedene akreditacije prema jednoj od međunarodno priznatih akreditacijskih kuća. Za potrebe istraživanja primjenjen je po prvi put u Republici Hrvatskoj Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) 2006 Short Form. Potvrđeno je da uvođenje ISO sustava snižava ukupni trošak poslovanja bolničke zdravstvene ustanove. Nije potvrđeno da ispitanici iz bolnica u kojima je proveden postupak implementacije međunarodnog sustava kvalitete imaju pozitivniji stav prema sigurnosti pacijenata, niti da rukovoditelji s edukacijom iz područja upravljanja u zdravstvu imaju značajno pozitivniji stav prema sustavu kvalitete i sigurnosti., The aim of this research is to validate the effects of implementation of international quality management systems in hospitals in the Republic of Croatia. The criterion of the established quality system was the implementation of the ISO system and/or accreditation by to some of the internationally recognized accreditation companies. For the purposes of research, the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) 2006 Short Form was applied for the first time in the Republic of Croatia. It has been confirmed that the implementation of the ISO system reduces the overall cost of the hospital. It has not been confirmed that the managers from hospitals in which the ISO has been implementated have a more positive attitude towards patient safety, nor that the managers who have completed some formal education in healthcare management have a significantly more positive attitude towards the quality and patient safety.